Why was Musharraf spared for compromises on country’s sovereignty?

ISLAMABAD: Though Husain Haqqani has been the focus of media as well as Abbottabad Commission for his role in facilitating the influx of US intelligence operatives in Pakistan, no one ever questioned General Musharraf for much more he had done at the cost of country’s sovereignty to please Washington during his military rule. 

On Wednesday, Husain Haqqani’s role was discussed in the parliament. In addition a senior PML-N leader Zafar Ali Shah filed a petition before the apex court seeking court martial of Asif Ali Zardari, Yusuf Raza Gilani and Husain Haqqani.

These developments are the consequence of Haqqani’s recent statement that following the approval of the then civilian leadership he had facilitated the influx of CIA operatives in Pakistan without the knowledge of country’s military establishment.

However, it is interesting to note that all and sundry focus the role of Husain Haqqani, but no one is mentioning how seriously General Musharraf had compromised the sovereignty of Pakistan to please the Americans. 

Credit, however, goes to former Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and the then DG ISI Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha who during their tenure had done remarkable job in cleansing the country of CIA and FBI agents, who got into Pakistan during Musharraf’s tenure or owing to the facilitation of Husain Haqqani during the last PPP government.

While Haqqani himself admitted how he served the Americans, in the case of Musharraf one of his Chief of General Staff had told The News in 2009 that Musharraf, during his rule, had not only allowed US drones to use Pakistani airspace for intelligence sharing but had also permitted the American intelligence agencies, the CIA and the FBI, to recruit their agents in the tribal belt of Pakistan.

Even an American newspaper, The Washington Times, had reported several years back that the FBI had organised some former Pakistani army officers and others into a band known as the “Spider Group” to locate Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives hiding in tribal areas along the Afghanistan border.

Quoting a federal law-enforcement official in Washington, the report had said the move marked an attempt by the FBI to develop a “free flow of information” to US agents who previously had worked under some restriction with the ISI.

The Spider Group, the report said, was also asked to recruit locals in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where hundreds of wanted “terrorists” were allegedly holed up.

According to the report,members of the Spider Group included a mix of Muslim and Christian retired army and intelligence officers and had been trained and equipped by the FBI.

In the post-Musharraf era and during PPP’s tenure and following the intervention of the then Army Chief and the DG ISI an unbelievable concession that the American “officials” and “diplomats” had been enjoying after 9/11, was withdrawn in October 2009.

The concession had offered a facility of unchecked arrivals and departures with no scrutiny of their luggage at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) in Islamabad.

Gammon Gate of the BBIA, which was basically meant for food catering services and had a direct outside airport link without passing through immigration and customs’ checks, was specified for the US officials and for the UN officials too. As reported earlier by this newspaper, this special facility by Musharraf regime had let the Americans to have unchecked arrivals and departures to and from the Islamabad Airport.

The facility was massively misused and there were reports of even unauthorised and undeclared import of sensitive material and equipment, including weapons. This fact had caused serious alarm bells ringing among the Pakistani authorities and forced them to withdraw the facility but after a lot of damage had already been done.

A CAA order, issued on the subject in 2009, did concede that the customs and immigration authorities had no arrangements/staff to check the movement and crew and other foreigners, etc. “The equipment related to aeroplane, the crew and their personal luggage also passes through this gate. During checking, US vehicles and the luggage they carry to and from apron area are not properly searched/checked by the ASF staff deputed to control the entry exit at the Gammon Gate,” a document had said, adding that in view of this, use of the Gammon Gate by foreigners should be stopped forthwith as it was a serious security hazard.

It was also found during Kayani-Pasha tenure that in the garb of trainers, a large number of US spies had entered Pakistan during the Musharraf regime and are serving at different facilities including Police Training College Sihala, which is situated quite close to one of the country’s nuclear sites.